On the other hand, 91 games finished with closing spreads of at least 6.5 points during the 2018-19 regular season alone. That breaks down to 5.4 per week.

The Denver Broncos were the last favorites to reach a closing spread of at least -7 in an Aug. 23, 2014 preseason game against the Houston Texans.

In fact, the most recent favorites of larger than seven points were the New England Patriots (-9) in a 2011 preseason game against the New York Giants. That is also the largest preseason point spread tracked in Bet Labs’ NFL database.

While the sample is small, favorites of this magnitude have not performed well in the preseason, posting a 15-25 (37.5%) against-the-spread (ATS) record since 2004.

Overall, favorites have been losing bets in the NFL preseason, going 462-504-30 (47.8%) ATS over that span.

Interestingly, bettors have not been scared off by the large number as 65% of wagers are laying the points with the Vikings.